DysFUNctional
by AppleL0V3R
Summary: One-shot Collection. 6. Friends - Children: When the four of them find the three children, they really don't know what to think other than the fact that they were definitely in for one hell of a ride. Team 7. Child!Fic
1. Turned: Tall

**Title:** Tall

**Author:** AppleL0V3R

**Beta-reader:** SymphoniaFreak

**Fandom:** Naruto

**Characters:** Team 7

**Rating:** T

**Type:** One-shot – Complete

**Summary:** Ever since they first met, it wasn't he or she, it wasn't I or you. It was 'us'. And she knew that any other way just wouldn't be right.

**Theme:** 50 Muses LJ challenge (#13 – Turned)

**Word Count:** 2,755

**Disclaimer:** If you've heard of it before, then it's obviously not mine.

**Note:** This collection of one-shots is dedicated to the friendship and dynamics of Team Seven, not the relationship between any mentioned pairings. So if there are pairings they will not be the focus.

The fact that this is actually major futuristic AU is purely because of an anime I've been watching and not because I like doing this. The muse demanded so I'm delivering.

**Requested by:** Anime Freak456

**Edited on:** December 8, 2011

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><p>"Alright guys, bring it home."<p>

Sakura almost breathed with relief; they were almost to the homestretch of this horrendous mission and she was more than ready to get back to her home. Oh home. She hadn't seen Konoha in months it seemed, though it had actually only been one. But it was still one too long. "Roger that." She responded through the communicator.

At the same time, she heard Naruto whoop with glee. "Home, here we come!"

"Hold up, dobe. Kakashi said to bring it home, not come home. We still have to finish up this mission."

The rosette knew without looking that the blonde had started pouting at their anti-social friend's statement. "I know that, teme. I'm just saying that after this we can go home."

"Provided we don't get killed."

She grinned. "Oh stop being pessimistic, Sasuke. We've gotten out of these things without so much as a scratch before."

"And other times by the skin of our teeth."

"But that's what makes it fun." Naruto interrupted, his exuberance clearly restored.

There was a snort from Sasuke's direction and the rosette giggled lightly. "Whatever you say."

Their mission had been pretty much a search and rescue and destroy, a common assignment for the three of them. One that was sometimes easy, well as easy as fighting androids and aliens could be, and other times they were simply impossible. The three of them always got through because nothing could tear them apart. Nothing could make one of them abandon any of the others.

Usually such tasks took teams of six or nine, but the three of them liked sticking tight together. Adding other people to the mix messed up the natural equilibrium they somehow managed. They didn't need words and standard signals to communicate with each other; they simply knew what was needed, what to do. That's why they worked so well. And Kakashi was the boss of their unit, not just the three of them, but the whole entire division. But the lazy man usually used her and her boys to get things done when he didn't feel like doing them or simply wanted to read his porn instead.

At any rate, they'd managed the search and find parts of the mission. Now all they needed to do was destroy and get their asses home. Easier said than done.

Sakura shifted on the vehicle below her; the motorcycle's leather was starting to stick to the cotton of her uniform pants. Her shirt felt a little too tight as well, but it was supposed to be so that it didn't get caught on anything she didn't need it to. And as for the helmet, not even she wore it anymore and she was suppose to be the most health care aware of the three of them.

Only a few more miles until their destination. She glanced to her left and right to see that Naruto and Sasuke were indeed beside her still. She grinned cheekily. "You're still beside me? I thought the two of you would have shot ahead by now."

Before the last words were even out of her mouth, there was a sudden whoosh of wind that added pressure to the air already around her, yanking her hair in all different ways before finally passing. The grin didn't fade and she didn't need to look to know that they were ahead of her. She decided to hang back like she usually did. She could fight, that much was for sure. But the hostages also need someone to protect them, so she was stuck playing protector. The rosette didn't mind all that much; very rarely did she have a problem with it and that was only when the freed hostage was a prick and pissed her off. She only put up with attitude if it came from Sasuke and even then she hardly let him get away with it. But she could deck her brother, she couldn't raise a hand to the guy she had to save.

Thankfully she didn't have that many to protect this time, two teenage girls and an adult male. The man was pretty compliant, doing anything she asked of him and the two girls followed his instructions almost blindly. She remembered when she'd been like that. At the time she was thirteen and saw the world as black and white and authority was always right. She didn't think like that anymore, especially not since she'd met her boys

_Seven Years Ago_

_Streets of Downtown Konoha_

_Young Sakura hurried down the streets. They were getting emptier as the sky got darker, and fear was beginning to twist and pool in her gut. She didn't want to run, lest she attract even more attention, so she went as fast as she dared all the while repeating in her head that she would be alright and the only thing she should be worried about was how much trouble she was going to be in for being so late. It hadn't exactly been her fault; cram school had gone longer than it was supposed to and the teacher had kept her afterwards. _

_She kept her eyes steadily in front of her and on her feet, refusing to look anywhere else, lest she see something that frightened her out of her wits. And knowing this place like she did, that was very likely to happen. She hated being young and weak. She couldn't wait to get stronger, wiser and able to protect herself from this scary world she was growing up in. _

_But what she hated most was being so alone. There was never anyone there when she needed them. No family of any sort, no teachers who actually cared, no friends to stand beside her. All she had were Conducts, to tell her how to behave and who to be and they didn't give a damn about her or her well being. If something happened then oh well. If she was hurt beyond repair she would be abandoned, even thrown to the wolves for worse to happen. If she got into a life or death situation that she'd never be able to get of alive, they would let her suffer. They would move on like she'd never existed in the first place. Because the fact of the matter was that they didn't need someone who was weak and, unless they were extremely strong, everyone was replaceable. _

_The world sucked. _

_And she acknowledged that it always would._

_Suddenly a sound far too close to her resounded and it stopped her dead in her tracks. Squeezing her eyes shut tight, she told herself in a panicked mantra 'don't look, just run, don't look, just run.' But her body wouldn't move, not an inch and though it felt like her knees were going to give out on her, she stayed frozen in her place. She felt something against her leg, and before she could stop herself, she shrieked and fell backwards, her things scattering as she fell on her ass. Her eyes flew open and she turned her head this way and that to find the source of her scare._

_Settled on its hind legs in front of her while tilting its head as it stared at her, its long tail swishing behind it. She blinked once then twice and finally felt like an overly alert fool. It was just a fox that had brushed up against her, though it was odd how it was just sitting there staring at her. Kind of unnerving really, but strangely not threatening. _

_Taking a deep breath to slow her racing heart, she smiled and held her hand out to the small creature. "Come here, boy. I'm sorry I shrieked; you just scared me is all." She hoped that that the animal was indeed a he because there was no way she was going to check._

_He stayed just like he had been for a moment, his tail swung a little more before stilling and he got to his feet. He was the size of a puppy, she realized as she watched him, her books and curfew momentarily forgotten. Slowly he padded forward, stopping mere centimeters from her outstretched hand and then seated himself once more. His red eyes never left hers as he leaned forward and pressed a furry forehead against her palm. _

_She couldn't help but think about how soft his orangish fur was and how cute he was as she tentatively moved her hand to start petting. A sound of content escaped him as finally the small fur ball closed his pretty eyes and pressed more fully into her touch. _

_Sakura enjoyed the moment, having never experienced anything like it in her young life, and she was about to go even closer when his eyes shot open. His body went rigid as he swung his head to the left, allowing her to realize that there was a dark alleyway right there, not more than a few feet from her. The act froze her in her spot, panic returning far too swift and hard. "What is it, boy?" She whispered quietly. His ears twitched, but he didn't react to her past that. She felt almost foolish for talking to an animal, but with the way that he had clearly responded, she couldn't help but think that his eye and fur color were the least of his quirks. _

_He kept watching the alleyway, but his body seemed to relax, bristling fur settled as he scooted just a little closer to her until she could feel his body heat. Once he was comfortable and halfway in her lap, he let out a bark of sorts, sounding quite happy as he did so. She wanted to be comforted. She wanted to breathe out a sigh of relief. But this was a fox and for all she knew whatever had relaxed him would be dangerous to her._

_Straining her green eyes, she tried to make out a form of any kind from the darkness, fear still high in her throat. _

_"Kyu. Hey, Kyuubi, no running off like that." The voice was male, but before she could have a chance to feel further scared, she realized it was on the boy side of a teenager's developing voice. That gave her a little better chance. After all, wasn't she already far in her combat training? Some of the fear drained at the reminder, but her body wouldn't loosen up until she saw the speaker._

_"You could have gotten hurt." This one wasn't the same as the first one and it was a bit deeper though still undoubtedly in the same age range. _

_Still young teenagers or not, there were two of them, both boys, and they were friends with a fox. She knew that meant if they chose to harm her, there was nothing the rosette could do about it. _

_A blonde haired boy who looked about her age came into view, the darkness of night and the lack of lighting causing her sense of color to be thrown off, but she was positive there were three whisker marks on each cheek. Less than a step behind him was a boy not much taller with black hair and black eyes and dark clothes but pale, pale skin. The first boy blinked at her then looked to the fox. "Did you find someone, Kyuubi?"_

_The fox tilted his head and inched closer to her, not quite protective or possessive, but definitely claiming. "Hello." She answered, trying to convince herself that they could still be a threat. But with the way the boy smiled in response – a grin nearly splitting his face in half – she found it much harder than when she hadn't been able to see him._

_"What's a kid doing all the way out here?" This was the second boy, he looked slightly intrigued and annoyed, but mostly nonchalant. Something told her he was the brains of the two, the one who made sure they stayed alive and when tact didn't work, the blonde protected them both. _

_Indignation rose in her throat, quickly displacing and burying any semblance of fear. Sakura shot to her feet, causing Kyuubi to quickly scramble out of her lap. "Who are you calling a kid? I bet you're younger than me!"_

_Both boys blinked and she realized suddenly that she had acted on the wrong impulse. She waited for one of them to lunge or something but the blonde burst out laughing as the black-eyed boy raised an eyebrow. "Don't look like a scared little kid and I won't call you one."_

_She felt herself bristle further, but wasn't about to make the same action twice. Just cause it hadn't killed her the first time didn't mean she would get off scot-free the second. _

_"What's your name? Mine's Uzumaki Naruto and one day, I'm going to rule these streets."_

_It was her turn to blink. Did he just introduce himself as…wow. The boy had guts, but she supposed those who grow up trying to survive on their own would have to have a backbone of some sort. "Err, I'm Haruno Sakura. And I'm going to be a doctor." This seemed to take them by surprise as well, but before either could say anything, she bent down to start picking up her books. "And you? What's yours, Mr. I'm not a kid."_

_She felt his scowl before she saw it. "Uchiha Sasuke." He shoved his hands in his off-white pant pockets._

_A smile started in on her face, and then she froze for what seemed the nth time, quickly standing and whirling back to face the one who'd just introduced himself. "Did you say Uchiha Sasuke?"_

_Naruto pouted, crossing his arms over his chest and began muttering under his breath, "And here I thought she was different. Why does every girl go for him?" He went ignored for the moment._

_"Yeah, what's it to you?" Black eyes zeroed in on her, reminding her of a completely different pair. Ones that had been slightly more gray because of flecks of blue._

_Her voice caught in her throat at the reminder, but she pushed past it because she had to know. She just had to. "Are you…are you Uchiha Itachi's little brother?"_

_The boy's lips parted slightly and like lightening he was right before her, grabbing her arms almost harshly. "You know my brother? Where is he?"_

_"Hey, teme, be careful. Do you want to scare off your only lead?"_

_She shook her head and swallowed. "No it's okay. I'd react the same way. He told me about you once." Her lips curled slightly into a small, sad smile. "He misses you, and he wants so badly to look for you, but he's afraid that if he does he'll draw _their_ attention."_

_Still the black eyes stayed on hers, as if searching her soul to see if she was telling the truth. "Who are they?"_

_But she shook her head; no one spoke the name on these streets, no one with half a brain and a little bit of self-preservation anyway. "I can take him to you, but it will have to be quick. Otherwise they'll chain you too."_

_Finally, Naruto spoke up. "Are you chained like teme's brother?"_

_She nodded sadly. "I vowed to myself that I would get out. Itachi made the same vow."_

_With determined eyes Sasuke answered, "Take me to him."_

_"Us. Teme. There is no you or me anymore, remember. It's 'us'."_

_Glancing back with traces of shock, the boys locked gazes. After what seemed like eternity, Sasuke let go of her arms and nodded to his friend. "Us."_

_All she could do was smile._


	2. Boredom: Occupy

**Title:** Occupy

**Author:** AppleL0V3R

**Beta-reader:** SymphoniaFreak

**Fandom:** Naruto

**Characters:** Team 7

**Rating:** T

**Type:** One-shot – Complete

**Summary:** When Sakura and Sasuke realize Naruto is bored they almost want to run for the hills. But they know they aren't safe even there.

**Theme:** 50 Muses LJ challenge (#2 – Boredom)

**Word Count:** 1,475

**Disclaimer:** If you've heard of it before, then it's obviously not mine.

**Note:** This collection of one-shots is dedicated to the friendship and dynamics of Team Seven, not the relationship between any mentioned pairings. So if there are pairings, they will not be the focus.

This one doesn't have a lot of actual interaction, but the relationship is implied (at least, I think it is) and that was my intention.

**Requested by:** Anime Freak456

**Edited on:** March 31, 2012

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><p>Having known each other for so long, the three of them have learned when it's best to shut up and make themselves scarce around one another. But since they have been around each for that long, not one of them will so much as budge even when everyone else either does or is too incompetent to realize the danger. For Sakura, it is when she gets that sugary, sweet tone and tries to act innocent even as her hands shake just slightly. For Sasuke, it is when his black eyes turn to black ice and the temperature seems to take a sudden nose dive.<p>

And Naruto? When Sakura and Sasuke realize Naruto is bored, they almost want to run for the hills. But they know they aren't safe even there. So they will stay and do their best to simply not snap at the blonde for finding a way to occupy himself. After all, they aren't always the targets; they're just the prime ones.

But to be fair, the boy really can be quite the ninja sometimes. Because sometimes, neither Sakura nor Sasuke see it coming.

This being one of those times.

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><p>As the head medic of Konoha Hospital, Sakura's days started before the sun and ended after moon high, a schedule she'd gotten used to after years of having said schedule. She would never complain about it and after the first month, had adjusted to it without a problem. Both her boys however clearly hadn't. On more than one occasion, it had become the foundation of a headache and her kicking both still highly irritated boys out of her apartment because she was far too tired to deal with it properly. After all, she knew they didn't like that she worked so much and were simply trying to look out for her, but it wasn't like she was driving herself into the ground or anything so she didn't like having the conversation.<p>

Now though, she realized she should have just let it happen, should've found the time to sit down and talk it out. Because then—maybe, just maybe—she wouldn't be having this problem.

She still could not figure out if it was just Naruto or if Sasuke was an accomplice, accidental or not. After all, he'd also ended up a victim though not in the same way and almost simultaneously. Sakura had learned the hard way that Naruto was not someone to underestimate when it came to pranks and setting them up.

At any rate, the blonde had set this one up in a way that she would realize halfway through it was supposed to be a sure fire way of keeping her home and idle for the next week to come. Most of the time, his pranks were harmless; spray paint, hair dye, amphibians in the bathroom, closet or kitchen cabinet, those sort of things. This one, however, was compact enough that it was both harmless and completely damaging.

It had been early morning—a prime time in the blonde's mind since he knew that she was still not a morning person—when Sakura was just getting ready to leave. Her morning routine was something along the lines of wake up, shower, get dressed, brush hair and teeth, apply make-up, grab a small breakfast and then get out the door. She didn't really have time for much else and she tended to wake and leave at the same time, which meant all the others fell within minutes of the same time each morning. Naruto had taken the time to figure out said timeline so he could set up a trigger that would catch her at the door.

She had just been crossing her living room to get to the front door as she pulled on a shoe almost haphazardly. But before she could even reach for the door handle, something seemed to push on her ankle. From there it was the domino effect. With her other leg still off the ground, one hand tending to it and her irritating heels while the other reached for the door with a piece of food in her mouth, she inevitably wobbled and fell. She jerked both arms outward in an almost flail motion, trying miserably to gain some semblance of her balance back but still ended up falling on her ass with solid 'thud' and 'oof'.

Cursing in the back of her mind, she moved to right herself, and again before she could pick herself up, something happened. That was when her still slightly groggy brain started to wonder if there was system to the problems. Whatever had pushed into her ankle now settled on it, invisibly tying the limb to the floor in a way that standing would just mean falling again. Blinking and getting just a little irritated, she shifted, reaching up to pull her food out of her mouth.

To her surprise, as she was moving to set said snack bar beside her, that same pressure seemed to wrap around her wrist in an almost binding sort of way.

Her lips parted, her brain clearing quickly as the analytical part of it kicked in. Whatever was going on was obviously not her morning klutziness at work. She stayed still, careful not to trigger anything else to happen lest she find herself completely tangled in invisible restrictions. Tilting her head, she zeroed in on her wrist; it took only a moment to catch the faint outline of wire and another to put two and two together.

Chakra wire that wasn't hers but wasn't threatening either. Which meant it was simply there to either make her late for her day or to make sure she couldn't leave her home.

But who would do that? And why?

Before she could even begin to start in on that, something warm and almost liquid-like splashed over her like second layer of skin. Her white coat and plain skirt suddenly hugged her skin, clinging to it in a waythe clothes hadn't been doing just a split moment before. She didn't dare gasp, but did allow her eyelids to fall once then open again. Warm liquid that turned almost solid and sticky in moments.

Almost like…

This time she allowed herself to hiss and, despite her better judgment, screeched as loudly as she could, "Uzumaki Naruto! When I get my hands on you, you are _sooo_ dead!"

Because the knucklehead had managed to coat her in neon green glue with chakra thread as a back up to make sure she couldn't get free. She was stuck on the floorboards of her home, right in front of the doorway, in a slightly awkward position and any moving only made it worse.

Oh, she would murder him. As soon as she figured out how to get out of the situation.

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><p>As she would find out later nearly a week after – neon green still almost everywhere in her long pink hair despite washing it at least ten or twenty times – Sasuke had found himself in a similar situation, though the color he was wearing was hot pink, and every time he was anywhere near his elder brother, he was even more grumpy because the older Uchiha was clearly amused.<p>

No, it was never a good thing for Naruto to be bored, especially not when he had motive and inspiration to fix that. Especially not when he had an unbeknownst target.

But Team Seven was notorious for not playing fair between each other. So it was only logical that when Sakura and Sasuke met a week after both their incidents, the first thing they saw in each other's eyes was recognition, the second vengeance. And fortunately for them, they knew exactly how to get back at the blonde, who at the time was grinning and enjoying the sunshine not more than a few yards from them in the clearing that they normally met at.

Maybe the boy was rubbing off on them, but they didn't need boredom to victimize their teammate; they just needed motive. And right then, they definitely had that.


	3. Piano: Instrumental

**Title:** Instrumental

**Author:** AppleL0V3R

**Beta-reader:** Terror-Of-The-Crimson-Night

**Fandom:** Naruto

**Pairing:** N/A – Team 7 Based

**Rating:** T

**Type:** One-shot – Complete

**Summary:** By looking at them, no one would believe that they all played classical instruments, but that was partially because they were in a rock band.

**Theme:** 50 Muses LJ challenge (#36 – Piano)

**Word Count:** 1,530

**Disclaimer:** If you've heard of it before, then it's obviously not mine.

**Note:** This collection of one-shots is dedicated to the friendship and dynamics of team seven, not the relationship between any mentioned pairings. So if there are pairings they will not be the focus.

**Requested by:** Anime Freak456

..:Xx0o0xX:..

Pressing one key after the next – some two or three at a time with just one hand – she moved with fluidity, never losing her legato rhythm. She'd been doing this since childhood, all three of them had, so it was easy to find a place for herself between the notes and lines as her long, thin fingers danced from white to black and back again. She hummed with each sound the large instrument before her made as it did so according to her fingers. The sounds going high before they went low and repeating continuously before they found a new rhyme on her command.

She loved to play the piano; so much so that she made sure to play for at least an hour on a daily basis even when she knew she was supposed to be rehearsing the newest ledger for a song. No matter how good a student she was, she was a procrastinator and had appeased her own wishes with a simple _later_. Before tacking on a _when the boys and I get together _so as to allow herself the piece of mind to do as she wished in the mean time.

If asked what she loved most about playing this particular instrument, she'd have to say how the vibrations thrummed up her arms, feeling very much as though it resonated with her soul each time she played anything at all. The sensation of it was like nothing else, not even the strumming of her base guitar as she let her shoulder rest against Sasuke's as they played through a song could compare.

Unfortunately, it wasn't anything more than a past time, or hobby, something to do when she wasn't busy with something else. Between being a college student with full courses, having a part time job and even being part of a rock band, she couldn't afford to make it more apart of her life then it already was. Not unless she switched majors. However, she'd always wanted to be a doctor since she was a child and with the career so close she could already see it in the distance, she wasn't going to even joke about not pursing any further.

So she settled for the meager time she found, using it to clear her mind and sometimes even as inspiration for a set of notes or anything else of that sort. She knew that her boys were the same way.

Sasuke, surprisingly, played the flute. Listening to it was like letting herself enjoy a particularly good slice of her favorite pie or cake, beautiful, enjoyable, heavenly. Even so, that didn't mean that between her and the other member of their group didn't given hell for it. After all, the flute was tended to be perceived as a more feminine instrument, even though it wasn't truly. All the same, their resident blonde loved to joke how the flute and Sasuke were a great match since they were both seen as girly. In their band, the raven haired college student also played guitar, sometimes when the song called for it, he also played electrical guitar.

Naruto on the other hand played a violin. Though he was the drummer of their band, he could go through a classical piece like he owned it. Being the hyperactive not to far out of his teens that he was, it was a wonder he could stay so still and focused as he used his bow on the strings of the relatively small instrument he loved to play. In fact, he tended towards the more challenging pieces, even if he did favor others like _Ave Maria_. If she closed her eyes and settled into a comfortable position, even if the style was different she still felt moved and couldn't help but think of it just as beautiful and enjoyable and heavenly as Sasuke's playing.

The difference between the two was that Sasuke's was soft, sweet and almost like it went straight to the soul and Naruto was full energy and charisma, influencing the audience to move and be moved. Both boys insisted that she was somewhere in between, not quite soft but definitely aimed for piece of mind and had just enough energy that moving to it wasn't difficult. But between the boys she preferred to simply be the harmony while they played the melody. It was how their relationship worked anyway, the boys were brash and liked to jump right into things, but no matter what it was she was almost the centerpiece that kept them together and often times the one that coaxed them into making up when they had their differences. She wasn't quite the glue though, that was Naruto, he was the one who had put the three of them together and kept them that way. Sasuke however, tended to be the voice of reason and the one who made sure people left their close-knit bonds alone. Usually anyway, they did tend to take up each other's rolls every now and again.

She accidently pressed the wrong keys, making an ear piercing clanging sound that was done in cartoons and such, when she felt hands on her shoulders. Sakura hadn't realized she'd gotten so deeply into what she was doing, even if she knew she was guilty of it whenever she was trying to put a score sheet together or was simply playing. The rosette had a tendency to simply get lost in the music she was creating, blocking the whole world out as she did so.

Taking a deep breath, she urged her heart to slow down and find a more normal rhythm rather than the speedy one it had just kicked into when she'd jumped with pure surprise. Then she turned to see who had scared the living daylights out of her, only to see a devious smirk and elegantly raised eyebrow, her ears picking up on the chuckles of the blonde not too far behind the guy who had spooked her. Green eyes narrowed as she huffed with indignation, "Sasuke, how many times have a told you not do that?"

"How many times have I told you to keep track of the time?" He rebutted and she had the feeling she shouldn't have waited until the boys got there. Still she sent him a disgruntled glare and one at the other boy for good measure. She only succeeded in getting a grin out of Naruto and an eye roll from the raven haired student.

"Whatever." She muttered, standing as she closed the lid on the keys and grabbed the music sheets from their perch. Once she was fully on her feet she stretched, extending her arms into the air and raising onto her tiptoes, she heard a few soft pops as the muscles strained. Well, that's what she got for staying in the position for so long. She let her arms flopped back down and dropped back down so that her bare feet were flat on the linoleum floor.

The blue eyed boy snorted before turning to head to the shelving on the far side of the room, that's where their latest work in progress would be. She still wasn't sure why they both decided to simply leave all of the music sheets and instruments at her house. That wasn't entirely true though, since Naruto didn't have room in his one bedroom apartment and Sasuke's parents were sticklers for strictly classical music and such. Not to mention that she still lived with her parents and didn't mind making the basement soundproof so that they could do whatever they wished with it. On the condition that it remained presentable, of course.

"Alright, let's get started." Ever the energetic one, the Naruto was already in the other part of the basement pick up his drumsticks so that he could fiddle with them until she and Sasuke were ready to start.

Thankfully, today was one of her sparingly few days off and so the three of them had all night to work on this song. She smiled as she pulled out all the music sheets and gave her boys their copies; she had the feeling that they were going to get a lot done. But she honestly couldn't say she would mind all too much if they started goofing off like they were wont to.

She enjoyed these times with her boys, so at ease in her own skin doing what she loved with the people who meant the most to her. Life couldn't get any better than this.


	4. Dance: Preparations

**Title:** Preparations

**Author:** AppleL0V3R

**Beta-reader:** Terror-Of-The-Crimson-Night

**Fandom:** Naruto

**Characters:** Team 7

**Rating:** T

**Type:** One-shot – Complete

**Summary:** When Sakura gets married and the wedding is on the horizon, she realizes that the biggest problem is that neither of her boys can dance.

**Theme:** 50 Muses LJ challenge (#23 – Dancing)

**Word Count:** 1,745

**Disclaimer:** If you've heard of it before, then it's obviously not mine.

**Note:** This collection of one-shots is dedicated to the friendship and dynamics of team seven, not the relationship between any mentioned pairings. So if there are pairings they will not be the focus. However for this particular one, there are mentions of ItaSaku, NaruHina and SasuIno.

Oh and I don't know one dance from the next (except the tango) so my apologies if I'm wrong and the woman isn't spun around on the waltz.

**Requested by:** Anime Freak456

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><p>Green eyes twinkled with amusement at the expense of the two grown men before her. Well, grown body wise, their mentality seemed to still be that of children or even pre-teens like when the three first met. But it wasn't because the two were arguing like morons again, it was because they were sputtering and whining about the firm choice she was imposing on them.<p>

It really was quite funny the way Naruto was waving his arms in the air and talking fast as he tried to convince her that her latest idea was a really bad one. Sasuke wasn't helping with the way he'd crossed his arms and was trying to look intimidating even as she caught all the telltale signs that he was uncomfortable and even borderline sullen.

But the key words in both those sentences was the word 'try'. Because the fact of the matter was, they weren't getting out of this.

Deciding that she'd allotted them enough time to get their protests out of their system – even though she knew they would keep up long after all was said and done – she shifted on her feet and put her hands on her hips. "Alright, dully noted." That got them to quiet, well Naruto to anyway since the raven haired man wasn't being all that vocal, "_However_, I'm not letting this one slid."

"But Sak–"

"No, Naruto. I'm not going to have you making complete fools of yourselves at my wedding, its just not happening." She didn't even pause or give them the chance to try to refute her statement, "And don't even try to tell me you know how to dance, because I know for a fact that you, Naruto, can't without at least some lessons and you, Sasuke, aren't getting by on any Uchiha excuse because Itachi told me that you can't dance either."

Her calm tone and all-knowing, no-nonsense eyes told them that they had been soundly trounced in this one. It earned her two very disgruntled twenty year olds and she knew that this was going to be a complete and utter nightmare. That didn't mean she was giving up. She'd known them for too long and knew them too well, not to know how to get around their attitudes – or at least how to put up with them.

And without further adieu, she turned to the instructor she'd hired for the occasion and nodded to the nice young woman.

After all, Sakura didn't need to learn, she'd grown up with Ino and the blonde had not rested until she was satisfied with the rosette's ability to move her body to any kind of music. Come to think of it, she had protested and made comments while she was being subjected to the lessons as well. But her pushy friend hadn't so much as batted an eye back then and so the Uchiha-to-be had learned to dance. And baring the same tenacity in mind, she proceeded to teach her surrogate siblings.

The dark haired woman, who would have Sakura's complete assistance in teaching her boys to formally dance at a wedding, smiled back and stepped forward. Normally she'd let them slid on account that they didn't dance anyway, but between the last event that had dancing in it and her upcoming wedding both men had found themselves girlfriends, both of whom were the rosette's best friends. And thus another reason they wouldn't be getting out of it.

Fortunately for them, Sakura had insisted she would take care of the lessons herself because she just knew that it wouldn't get done otherwise. Ino was going to make things horrible for Sasuke or that she would be far too flirty – and the two would probably end up in bed rather than making progress. And polite and shy Hinata would either not convince her loud boyfriend to do as she asked or she'd end up fainting from the prolonged, close proximity – and so progress wouldn't be the last thing to happen.

She knew that eventually the two women were going to be able to get Naruto and Sasuke to do what they wanted like Sakura could, but until then, this was her wedding and she really didn't want anything going wrong.

Deciding that the whole thing would go a lot more smoothly and a lot less awkward for the other woman to do her job if the green eyed woman played Sasuke's dance partner. Naruto would be fussy and loud, but the raven haired guy would be cold and stiff, making it as impossible as he could to be worked with and would do a damn good job while he was at it. So even if it would agitate her, she knew it would be a good idea.

Even if the instructor already knew them as well, she didn't actually know them past a few greetings and a handful of conversations when one or the other had been picking Sakura up from work. The woman's name was Shizune and she was a family friend of the Haruno's godmother, Tsunade. Not to mention a colleague when the two of them trained for the local hospital under the aforementioned blonde woman.

Shizune motioned for Naruto to come to her as Sakura settled her feet in front of Sasuke. "Alright, we're going to start simple, and formal. The Waltz."

And like that, both women were clasping left hands with their unwilling male counterparts and placing the right hand on board shoulders. Sakura felt Sasuke awkwardly shift on his feet and grab her hip with his own left hand. Out of the corner of her green eyes, she sees Naruto begrudgingly follow Sasuke's lead even as the dark haired woman began to instruct on what steps they would be taking, moving the blonde as she did so. Unfortunately, even though neither guy could dance, Naruto was as graceful as a bumbling toddler who refused to open it's eyes and be mindful of the feet of his dancing partner and so no matter what it looked like he was being dragged half the time and dragging Shizune incorrectly the rest of it.

Sasuke on the other hand, had begun to move while keeping an eye on the other dancing pair. But he was stiff and halting and refused to yield or make things even remotely easy for Sakura. Because of his complete and utter lack of effort, the pink haired woman ended up losing her footing when she tried to spin under his arm which was arched far too low, forcing her to do some kind of awkward and painful limbo before falling on her ass quite painfully.

She closed her eyes and prayed for patience that didn't come as she got back onto heeled feet. Instead of hitting him and trying run that pretty face of his like she had the urge to, she put her hand on his shoulder and roughly grabbed his other one. All the while doing her best to tune out her laughing best friend as he yet again stepped on Shizune's foot.

It was clear that the two of them were just going to have to be more stubborn about this than the two infuriating guys they were trying to teach.

It took nearly and hour before either pair got through the steps without too much problem the first time. It took another two before it looked even halfway good. By that point Sakura was ready to thrown the towel and be happy that it might look semi good so long as no one paid any attention to either man while they were dancing. Besides, she soothed her irritated and frazzled nerves, being so close to Sasuke for three hours without dancing lessons should warrant a break for anyone. The guy was a pain in the ass and every other second she had to fight the urge to throttle him.

She loved him like the brother she never had, and she wanted to beat him like it too.

Even the normally patient and sweet-tempered Shizune was looking halfway murderous when Sakura stepped away and said that she'd had enough for that day. And the rest of her life too, she'd added darkly under her breath.

It was a wonder she'd managed to go so long without snapping and cheerfully committing double homicide years ago. In fact, she deserved a medal. Her feet were killing her and she felt just a bit twitchy, like the next person to so much as look at her wrong was going to get a broken nose. Though she would happily settle for a nice massage and sweet-talking from her lovely honey.

Before or after she got back at Naruto and Sasuke, she wasn't sure. The bloody brats were still grinning – or in Sasuke's case, smirking – because they knew they'd won. But after putting up with them both for three hours she didn't want to see their faces for another second.

She vaguely wondered if she really wanted to be related to them too. After all, her folks had pretty much adopted Naruto when they were kids. But being Sasuke's sister-in-law? She didn't know if she could do it.

But she loved Itachi and she'd considered both boys family for over a decade now anyway. She was just going to have to put up with actually being related to both of them. And she was going to have to deal with nightmares that went with that.

And Itachi definitely owed it to her treat her like a queen. Especially since this had been his idea from the beginning.


	5. Life: Together

**Title:** Together

**Author:** AppleL0V3R

**Beta-reader:** SymphoniaFreak

**Fandom:** Naruto

**Characters:** Team 7

**Rating:** T

**Type:** One-shot – Complete

**Summary:** They've worked so hard to get where they are, between the blood and sweat and tears; so hard. Too hard to let something like death rip them apart.

**Theme:** 50 Muses LJ challenge (#39 – Life)

**Word Count:** 1,775

**Disclaimer:** If you've heard of it before, then it's obviously not mine.

**Note:** This collection of one-shots is dedicated to the friendship and dynamics of Team Seven, not the relationship between any mentioned pairings. So if there are pairings, they will not be the focus.

**Requested by:** Anime Freak456

**Edited on:** February 25, 2012

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><p>Sasuke's black eyes, normally so nonchalant, were harsh and cold. Pent up fury flickered in icy tendrils behind them as he forced himself to step back and analyze the situation. But all he could think right then was that the bastards had stolen their teammate, and he'd be damned before he even thought about letting them get away with it.<p>

Beside him, Naruto's blue eyes held the same fury, though his were burning rather than freezing, it wasn't any less potent, just that much more explosive.

The both of them were a sight to see, seething that their precious sister-figure had been taken from them in their enemy's bid to use her as a bargaining chip. Blood dripped from Sasuke's gleaming wakizashi, and Naruto had just retrieved a blooded kunai from the torso of a fallen shinobi. Neither was going to even think of leaving Sakura at the mercy of the cowards who wouldn't face them in a fight, instead seeking to beat them by any other means.

In the back of their minds, the both of them knew that Sakura was no distressed damsel in need of saving or protection; the kunoichi was theirs for a reason. She could keep up with them, hold her own in spars against them; she was just as strong and even had the edge of medical knowledge at her advantage. But that didn't change the fact that she was irrevocably _theirs, _and that meant they would lay down their lives for her in a heartbeat; that they would go to the edges of the earth to get her back. She was and always would be theirs to protect and cherish, their teammate, their sister.

And not even orders or mission protocol were going to hinder them from doing whatever they had to get her back.

So the next step was obvious to them: making a plan to get her back.

Sasuke knew Naruto was more than willing to charge ahead without any sort of strategy, fully confident that everything would work itself out without him even needing to try. The dark-haired man also knew that kind of thinking would slow them down, and it would take much more time than if they expended a little bit of time in finding the quickest way to get to her. And he wasn't going to wait any longer than he absolutely had to in gettting Sakura back.

Naruto complained and raged at being forced to take the time to plan anything out, assuming that simply going straight to Sakura and mowing down anyone or anything that got in their way would be faster. But in the end he contributed, and the plan was finished in almost no time at all.

The plan itself was fairly simple: they didn't want to take the time going through all the guards, so they would divide and meet up inside the building. From there, they would stay within a ten kilometer radius of each other as they searched out their missing teammate. Anyone who got in their way would be dealt with accordingly, and by that point, Sasuke didn't care if that meant taking more lives. They were the ones idiotic enough to go for the only woman of Team Seven, and they were going to pay for it dearly.

Naruto had said, at some point over the long years they'd spent side-by-side, that anybody stupid enough to go for one of them should know beforehand that they were asking to take on all of them. They were known for operating completely as a team, after all. They went on the same missions together, they were all equally well-known, and one of them simply wasn't associated without the other two. It was how they had always worked, and that wasn't about to change anytime soon.

Despite their equal levels of fury, and Naruto's innately loud nature, getting inside the underground fortress their enemy had retreated to was the easy part. It was finding Sakura without getting caught that was the challenge.

They decided Sasuke would enter through the southern gate and Naruto from the north, and the two would meet up near the eastern gate. From there, they would systematically search under every rock and in every crevice until they found their precious teammate. And by any means necessary, they would find her.

Once they met up for the first time, they continually split up and rejoined one another as they searched hallways and rooms and anything else that was in their path. Surprisingly, they ran into very few enemies, and the ones they did cross were far too easy to deal with. Those combined facts put Sasuke on edge, but his anger kept him going all the same and refused to let him back off anymore than he already had.

In the end, he realized it wouldn't have mattered if he had stopped to consider, or backed off enough to plan a little more. Because when they finally found their teammate, she was barely recognizable past the damage that had been done to her.

His first instinct was to go to her; the second was to completely destroy the ones responsible. Naruto sprinted forward first, making Sasuke's decision for him. If his best friend was going to their sister's aid, then he would deal with the culprits. The tomoes in his crimson eyes spun furiously, giving away his increased anger until they became bladed and settled in place once more. A quick scan of the surrounding area told him that there were no more living humans in the vicinity. They only ones left were those they had encountered on the way and they were but corpses.

Feeling a spike of anger boardering on hatred, he pivoted on his heel once more to retreat to his family.

Sakura's chest was scarcely moving; the gashes and clearly broken bones were crushed inward and made the task of breathing hard for her. He'd seen the damage that a crushed chest cavity did to someone; she used it every now and again to deal with her opponents. He forced his eyes to rove over the rest of her body, categorizing all the harm she had taken. Bloody cuts littered her body; up and down her arms and legs, they even went through her clothes. The more he saw, the higher his anger burned. She had broken bones, her feet and hands were crushed.

What the hell had they done to her?

Why?

Naruto was carefully hovering, shifting her body parts here and there so as to make her comfortable. Blue eyes shot to his only once, but it was enough for him to see his emotions reflected back to him. When the two of them found the culprits, they were going to do much worse than what had been done to their sister.

But for now, she was priority. And that meant getting her to the nearest hospital and under the care of the most competent doctor possible.

They weren't going to lose her. Not for this and most definitely not to death.

Sasuke approached quickly, but stopped before picking her up when he saw just how much damage had been done. This was exactly the kind of situation where Sakura would insist on field medicine being administered before the body was moved.

It took him less than a moment to come to a decision and nearly half that amount of time for him to settle on his knees and pull her medical pack out. As he moved to collect everything he thought would be necessary, the blonde removed any and all clothes that covered the wounds. Neither of them even thought about the fact that they were undressing their teammate, or the fact that she was female and to help her she would have to be nude.

This was Sakura, and while they hadn't exactly seen her naked, she was too much like a sister for the sight to make them squeamish. Especially not when the alternative was her dying. He could see deep gashes on her legs and abdomen; a sword had been used to make those. But the discoloration of her chest meant she had been hit by a blunt object of some sort.

Anger bubbled hot and consuming at the sight, but he forcibly shoved it away so as to focus on helping her. Revenge could wait; her life could not.

Both males of Team Seven worked quickly and efficiently in sync, doing their best to repair and stabilize their third member.

They had resisted learning the basics of first aid from her whenever she had tried to teach them, but Sakura had proven to be just as stubborn as them and even more patient. Now they were thankful that she had managed to beat the lessons into them.

As they finished up, Naruto let his chakra spread out through the ground and air. Sasuke rolled his Sharingan eyes and deftly hoisted the pink-haired kunoichi up in his arms. The blue-eyed boy's objective had been to inadvertently make his teammate carry her and thereby not try to track the people responsible. The only reason he wasn't objecting to it was because he knew where the closest hospital was that could help them and he didn't hesitate to dash off in the correct direction. In no time at all, Naruto was in front of him, keeping a watchful eye out just in case they were ambushed.

"Hold on, Sakura. You'll be treated in just a few hours." He murmured near her ear, knowing she couldn't hear him, but feeling the need to say it anyway.

Naruto looked to him, eyes darting to his surrogate sibling. "Don't worry, Sakura, we won't let you die."

The vow seemed to spur the both of them to move even faster.

They wouldn't lose her. She was theirs, no one else's, and they would be damned before they let even death take her.


	6. Friends: Children

**Title:** Children

**Author:** AppleL0V3R

**Beta-reader:** SymphoniaFreak

**Fandom:** Naruto

**Characters:** Team 7: Uchiha Sasuke, Uzumaki Naruto, and Haruno Sakura

**Other Characters: **Uchiha Itachi, Uchiha Fugaku, Uchiha Mikoto, Haruno Kako (OC)

**Theme:** 50 Muses LJ challenge (#27 – Friends)

**Summary:** When the four of them find the three children, they really don't know what to think other than the fact that they were definitely in for one hell of a ride.

**Word Count:** 5,575

**Rating:** T

**Type:** One-shot – Complete

**Genre:** Pre-canon (Child!Team 7, pre-massacre), Humor, Friendship, Family

**Disclaimer:** If you've heard of it before, then it's obviously not mine.

**Started:** February 23, 2013

**Completed:** January 9, 2014

**Note:** This collection of one-shots is dedicated to the friendship and dynamics of Team Seven, not the relationship between any mentioned pairings. So if there are pairings they will not be the focus. Also, fair warning, I fluidly switch between the three of them without any clear breaks, but it's also pretty obvious when I change from Naruto to Sakura to Sasuke and any combination thereof.

Also, I realize the characters might come off a little too intelligent for five year olds, but Sakura, Sasuke, and Naruto in canon are very intelligent people even at the young age of twelve, so I think that's both learned and innate. And given the backgrounds (both established and the liberties I'm taken) it would seem reasonable that they can think as developed as they can without losing a childish mentality. Speaking of character differences, I'm well aware that Sasuke pre-massacre was a happy child, but I figure that while already in a sullen mood to begin with, Sasuke wouldn't adapt very well to being out of his element in unwelcome circumstances complied with unexpected turn of events, thus my reasoning for why Sasuke is acting not so happy-go-lucky or kind as he is portrayed canonically.

Lastly, I apologize for taking almost literally a year to finish this. If it weren't for a review on my Snuggle Buddy, Cuddle Honey one-shot, I probably would have taken much longer. Hopefully the next one will only take half the time at most to get posted (or you know, a couple of weeks).

**Requested by:** Anime Freak456

**Last Edited on:** January 29, 2014

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><p>It was a chance meeting for the three children; it was a mere coincidence that they were all in the same place at the same time. But it wasn't happenstance that they took notice of each other.<p>

At the tender age of five, each had varying levels of experience in independence. Sakura was the only child of a single mother who always seemed to be working; Sasuke continuously found himself in his precious older brother's shadow and forced to fend for himself; Naruto didn't even know who his parents were and only knew Iruka-sensei and the Old Man as parental figures when they had time to do more than check in on him. It also happened that the park near the academy was a favorite place of all three to play at when they could, and on that particular day they were all there at the same time.

Naruto had grown bored of the small one-bedroom apartment that he'd been allotted long before his memories began, and had decided to venture toward the park in search of something to do. And with any luck, he hoped he'd find someone willing to play with him as well; but the occasions such a thing happened were so few and far between that he didn't expect it. Still, he was more than capable of simply playing on the swings or slides, or even just the sandbox by himself if he had to. Anything to get rid of the boredom.

Sasuke found himself at the playground, not because he wanted to go, but because there was no one at home who could keep an eye on him. Since he was too young to stay home alone, and his parents were busy and his aniki away, he was left to occupy himself in a public setting with the instructions to stay there until someone came by to pick him up. This had happened enough times already that he was more put out than frightened by the prospect of being on his own, surrounded by a bunch of civilian children.

Sakura was in a situation halfway between the two boys. Her mother was going to be working until after dark, so the rosette found herself restless and needing an activity to busy herself with. Normally that would include reading one of her father's large books or trying to take care of the garden that her mother had started for her. But today, neither prospect seemed especially appealing, which left her to figure out what did. And the local park seemed to fill that quite nicely.

With all three at the park, it was a series of events that led the three to notice and interact with each other. There had been other children at the park along with a couple parents. Naruto had been careful not to approach anyone he'd played with previously, as they had a painful pattern of refusing to play with him a second time. And to his delight there were a handful of new faces present. Without hesitation, he made a beeline for one of them, a small boy playing with a shovel and bucket in the sandbox, and the blonde's quick mind had already thought of a way to introduce himself.

His quick approach was abruptly halted when a child he did know turned to him and blinked knowing eyes just before calling to the boy Naruto was about to introduce himself to. He felt his heart sputter and drop as he watched the unknown boy look to who had called him and then to the blonde and back again; choice clearly already made, the boy got up and jogged towards the other kid. The blue-eyed boy stood there for just a moment longer before he forced himself to smile and shake it off. It happened all the time, he should be used to it; he should just suck it up and get over it. As he'd observed before, there were other children here that he hadn't met yet. Surely not all of them had met someone who had played with him before. With determination once more gripping his small chest, he turned toward the small dark-haired boy inspecting the swing set as if it would suddenly come alive and attack him. The young Uzumaki knew a great way to approach the odd boy, and he did so with a smile.

The blonde approached cautiously, not willing to risk the incident just moments ago again. When he was within arm's reach of the boy whose wary black eyes stayed on the swings even though he was right next to an empty seat, he asked tentatively, "Do you want to play?"

The dark-haired boy whipped around so fast the blonde thought he might get whiplash. Dark eyes looked at him with the same suspicion that he'd observed the swing set with. Then he pursed his lips and looked away, back to the swings. "Why would I want to play with a civilian?"

Hurt surfaced sharp and quick, but hope remained. The other kid hadn't said 'fox' or 'demon' or any of the other insults that were directed towards him. And though he didn't know what a 'civilian' was, surely it was better than all the others, and maybe if he tried, the black-eyed boy would change his mind. Curiosity made him want to ask what a civilian was, but pride and the possibility of a playmate, even if just for the day, appealed far too much for him to do so. "Why don't you just get on the swing?"

Again those eyes were locked on him, this time less wary and more with bolstered anger. "Because." Like that was more than reason enough.

Street smarts had taught little Naruto to read between the lines with that particular response. When adults said 'because' and nothing else it meant one of two things; they didn't know or they didn't want to tell him. And from the way the boy had been watching the swing set told the blonde that it probably meant he didn't know how to swing. Blue eyes lit up like light bulbs upon seeing the opening. Maybe if he showed the other how to swing, they could play together and his civilian or whatever status wouldn't matter anymore.

"I can show you how." He offered cautiously, and just to be safe he added hastily, "If you want."

The boy scowled back at him. "I know how, I just don't have _Aniki_ with me to do it."

It wasn't the '_aniki_' bit that had Naruto furrowing his small brow, it wasn't even the condescending tone the dark-haired boy was using; it was the idea that swinging on a swing set required two people. The tan-skinned boy had never needed another person to swing, not even to learn how. After he'd figured out the trick through trial and error, admittedly a skill he'd learned for the sole purpose of gaining friends which had failed just like everything else, he had been able to do so all on his own.

Despite his confusion, he didn't want to frown at the other child, because the other boy was still _talking_ to him, and that was more than he could say for the vast majority of the park's inhabitants. Instead he tried to make this new, albeit befuddling, piece of information work. He nodded slowly and tried again to make playing with the grumpy five-year-old possible. "Then…I'll do what your 'aniki' does?" It came out more like a question than he'd originally intended, but halfway through the other boy's scowl had become fierce and a touch indignant.

"You can't replace my aniki." The boy snapped, sharp enough that the whisker-marked boy didn't even hear the undertones of want and petulance.

In fact, all he could think was that the other toddler was being unnecessarily mean, just like all the others but in a slightly different way. Naruto had thought that there was only one way to be mean; apparently there was more than one and for some reason this one hurt even more. This one seemed almost even more personal despite the fact that the words weren't anywhere near as cruel as the ones he was used to hearing.

But rather than saying anything or detangling himself from the situation, the Uzumaki reacted without thinking and pushed the other boy with a 'you don't have to be mean' lost somewhere in what quickly turned into a scuffle between the two.

Little Sakura happened to have finally decided to take a break from learning the words in the large tome she'd taken with her on the way to the park at that particular moment. It was one of her favorites not because it was hard, but because it was a gift and she had learned a long time ago not to take such things for granted. That didn't, however, mean she didn't need small breaks to let herself process and understand the new knowledge she was stuffing her brain with, not to mention there were more than a couple dozen words she didn't understand every time she read a new passage. So she'd dog-eared her page and shifted the heavy copulation of papers and hardbound leather to the space on the bench beside her. Green eyes blinking to take in the world around her, assuming it would have changed since she'd settled on the empty park bench nearly an hour before.

Originally her eyes had begun to automatically track their way to the sky, but not first without looking at the playground in front of her. She consequently zeroed straight on to the struggling boys and she was on small feet before she was even thinking it through. Her book and peace were forgotten as she found herself hurrying over to the other two children in an instinctual bid to stop the scuffle.

"Hey!" It was an ongoing joke of her mother's that despite her small, even for her age, stature she was a loud little thing. And while she normally whined at the joke, she was glad for having a good set of lungs on her because of situations like this. Both boys jumped away from each other and immediately looked to her in complete surprise. Though the black-haired boy's expression quickly morphed to one of disgruntlement and a hint of embarrassment—which only made him puff up so as to hide—the other child stayed startled looking for a few moments longer, clearly still absorbing the sudden change in the situation. However once it did change, it became confused and unsure as if he didn't know what to expect from her next, but was assuming the worst and trying to be subtle about preparing to run at a moment's notice.

Neither was a reaction that she had expected and so she too idled for a moment while gaining her bearings. But she quickly remembered that the two had been fighting, which mama always said was a bad thing because violence wasn't the answer, and she had intervened because one of them could have gotten hurt. "You shouldn't fight." She told them firmly, intent on getting the two boys to make nice or say sorry or simply leave each other alone.

The blonde hung his head, not entirely apologetic in his mumbled sorry, but also clearly not wanting any further damage to be done. With such a promising reaction, she turned to the dark haired boy, hoping to find him similarly repentant. Except, she should have guessed by his earlier immediate reaction, that anything approaching an apology was asking a bit much of him. His expression half rebellious and half petulant, he gave a soft 'humpf' and turned his nose up at her in an almost haughty manner, snapping, "It's none of your business."

She flinched her wide green eyes at the abrasive attitude, and her normally sweet and innocent disposition was inclined to be hurt over it. But the small part of her that Ino had incited within her wanted to be offended and in turn smack some sense into the rude little boy. As it turned out she didn't have to worry about how the other perceived her reaction because the blonde boy was already jumping to his feet and casting a haphazard arm in the raven-haired boy's direction, pointing at his face in some sort of offensive pose. It would have been hilarious if they were older, but right then it was only dumbfounding.

"Don't be mean to her, stupid head!" He declared with as much bravado as he could manage and puffed up his scrawny body as much as it allowed.

Little Sakura honestly didn't know whether to be flattered or dumbfounded at having the scruffy boy defending her, but that was immediately over ridden by her urge to have everyone happy. She reached out and cuffed the blonde boy, "No name calling, it makes people petty." That's what her mama always said anyway, and her mama was always right about these kinds of proprieties. No name calling, cursing or being impolite. And then she realized that she may have just perpetuated more confusion and tension between the three of them and her shoulders slumped. Turning fully to the boy she'd just chided, she gave him a small smile "But thank you for defending me." Then she turned back to the other boy, who was so stunned by how this whole ordeal was playing out that he was still on the ground. "We don't have to be friends, but you don't have to be mean either."

Neither boy seemed to know how to react to her respective reactions to them, so once more the three five-year-olds were at a standstill.

The blond, as had become a pattern now, was the first to react, his blue eyes staring into hers in a wide-eyed gaze as he slowly, tentatively, took a step towards her. "You…you would want to be…friends?" He couldn't believe his luck. Part of him whispered that he was foolish to hope, but the rest of him was so desperate for a friend, so willing to believe that maybe, just maybe, she wanted to that he refused to not take the chance. He'd been told yes before by other children, only to be abandoned for others who had made a game of shunning and picking on him, but he told himself that this was different. She'd caught him fighting with the other boy and she was still offering – that was offered right? She proposed friendship, even if she hadn't been talking directly to him.

Green eyes turned back to him, looking befuddled and bewildered. She took a moment, then nodded slowly, offering a simple "everyone needs friends" as if it were a good enough explanation. And Naturo accepted it full heartedly because for the first time in what seemed ages, he'd gotten a genuine seeming yes. As that sunk in, he began to grin, overwhelmed with the idea that he'd made a friend. And she looked sweet too; he wondered immediately if she liked ramen, maybe she'd eat lunch with him.

Meanwhile, Sasuke, still in the same position he'd been since the little tussle between he and the blonde brat had been broken up by the pink-haired civilian, simply stared. Feeling a mash of different emotions about everything that had just taken place in the span of the last five minutes, he couldn't bring himself to even consider moving his limbs. This, he thought, was _exactly_, why he didn't come to public playgrounds without other shinobi children to play with. But for as mulish and stubborn as he was wont to being, he couldn't help the potential shinobi in him from recognizing a puzzle when he saw one. And Ka-chan always said a puzzle was like a challenge, encountered or given to be solved, to be won. Even _Aniki_ was inquisitive and curious, always seeking to understand and know; it was why the older of the two Uchiha boys was always so far ahead of everyone else.

And Aniki would be able to solve this puzzle, win this challenge. And if his prized elder brother could, then he had to too, so he could be just like – if not greater – than his chunnin sibling.

How, he asked himself, would _Aniki_ solve this particularly vexing challenge? The Uchiha Clan Heir was generally too busy nowadays to actually teach him anything one on one anymore, despite all the promises of 'next time' he'd been given, but Sasuke did remember his brother telling him once upon a time to understand all the pieces of the puzzle first. So he forced himself to watch first the blonde haired boy more diligently and form an opinion about the other boy's personality and position in the situation.

The blonde had approached him tentatively, the dark-eyed boy remembered, because his voice had been shaking. But he'd been so irritated and sulky about being left in the park in the first place that the only three people who could have successfully approached him were his immediate family members. So when he had snapped at the hesitant boy, the other had been quick to go on defense but refused to actually give up. Sasuke scowled at that thought, why _hadn't_ the other given up? Anyone else would have scrambled away because of his waspish tone.

With that thought firmly in mind, he realized it was both the other boy's determination to play with him and his staunch anger at being stuck in a civilian play place that had led to the rough struggle the two had ended up in. And he'd been unwilling to stop because he'd never been in a fight before; no one would dare treat an Uchiha boy that way, especially one of Oto-sama's children. And yet despite his training and grooming, the blonde little scraper had managed to hold his own like fighting an Uchiha was no big deal. Matching him blow-for-blow and rolling them over just as many times as Sasuke had; in fact, if he could ever admit it to himself, the blonde had rolled them over _more_ than Sasuke had.

And then the little pink-haired girl had come out of nowhere and knocked them both apart, declaring that they shouldn't fight. She'd sounded firm, and shock had stilled him for long enough not to notice her own inexperience with the situation. But at every turn, she'd tried to be authoritative and hesitant, like she was copying someone she'd seen before and trying to adapt it to the situation. But she used big words like his aniki did and even understood the wisdom she tried to impart, like any competent adult he'd ever known.

For a moment, he wondered if he should entertain the possibility that civilian children could be equal to clan children. The idea went against everything he'd been taught to date by the clan, and so he wasn't quick to accept something he knew his elders would find ludicrous. Yet he couldn't reject the clear evidence he saw before him; both children displayed a capacity for intelligence and a potential that could be pursued.

Would his aniki scoff at the two children before him? Would he think Sasuke's thought ridiculous? What if he didn't?

Dark eyes flickered between the two who had continued to converse in hesitant sentences as they seemed to test the waters of friendship between them, the blonde much more cautious than the pixie girl's own gentled curiosity. Sasuke still didn't understand the other boy's timidness, but it seemed to rule what he said and how close he got to either of them even when he was clearly eager for attention. Like a puppy, the raven-haired boy thought, starved for attention but not enough courage to seek it. The Uchiha in him wanted to laugh and call him pathetic; the inquisitive part of him wanted to know where it stemmed from. In the end he decided it wasn't his problem so he didn't care. Apathy was an Uchiha heir's best friend after all.

He also didn't understand the green-eyed girl's effort to rein her own curiosity in, gentling her responses. He blinked once between the two and like a light bulb going off in his bright mind, he realized why. She saw the skittishness as well and she was trying not to frighten the boy. At the same time, she seemed to be choosing words carefully so as not to promise anything she was hesitant to deliver on. She was being considerate of his feelings and trying to react appropriately to the boy who seemed rough around the edges.

They weren't on par with Uchiha, but maybe, just maybe they had their own merits. He nodded decisively to himself; that would simply have to be the best explanation he could muster for now. With that thought in mind, he looked about him and found the swingset still empty, and the urge he'd had to swing made its way back to the fore of his priorities. But he kept looking around, surveying his surroundings just in case _Aniki_ had returned while he'd been preoccupied, and noticed that the bench the pink-haired girl had been at prior to the blonde approaching him had been overtaken by older children who were waving around a book. He squinted at the cover and recognized the book as identical to one in his father's study.

He frowned, perplexed. Obviously it was not Oto-sama's book, but that meant it belonged to the girl who was obliviously chattering, more animatedly now, with the blonde. Surely any book his father deemed worthy to own shouldn't be treated in such a way, no matter if it had been left on a bench by a pink-haired girl.

So, ignoring the swings and the two children, he made his way over to the bench, intent on retrieving the book.

Without any hesitation, Sasuke walked right up to the group and waited for them to notice him, correctly guessing that it wouldn't take long at all. The biggest one in the group, the boy holding the book, noticed him and pinned the five-year-old with a condescending look that seemed to express the sentiment, 'who do you think you are barging in on _my _group?' But the raven-haired boy remained completely unperturbed by the older boy; after all, his _aniki_ would have been wholly unfazed by much bigger and more confident opposition. "That's my friend's book," he nodded to said object. "I'd like it back."

Obviously that wasn't what the older kid had expected because for a moment all he could do was blink in utter confusion at the young Uchiha, but the latter stayed focused and adamant about his demand. When it took longer than he had the patience for, Sasuke thrust his hand out and indicated for the book to be handed over. However, the gesture wasn't received well, and the boy sneered, yanking the leather book away. "_Sorry_, I don't take orders from some snot-nosed kid."

Sasuke scowled, half tempted to snap that the other kid should look in the mirror, but didn't think it would help his case. So rather than get distracted by the insult—what did some civilian child know anyway?—he decided to stick to the direct approach. "I don't care what you do, I just want the book. I don't see how that's a problem."

Starting to turn an interesting shade of red in the face, the older boy tried covertly glancing around his group. None of the other boys creating the almost completely circle around the kid seemed to know what they were supposed to be doing because they did nothing but stare at Sasuke and the eldest kid in the group. Not that the five-year-old cared. Being raised into the Uchiha clan had taught him apathy to others' thoughts and actions when they didn't involve him and indifference when dealing with nearly any kind of situation he found himself in. This was no exception, so he didn't care what the ring of children did or didn't do so long as he got the book and they didn't give him too much trouble. As far as his young mind was concerned, it really wasn't that hard a concept to grasp.

With that thought in mind, he refocused on the larger kid in front of him who currently seemed to be working himself into a frenzy about something or other. "Look, if you give me the book right now, I'll walk away and you'll never have to even think about me again." That seemed an almost _Aniki_ sort of thing to say, and any path his brother took always turned out exactly how he wanted it to. Though, it didn't have quite the effect Sasuke had thought it would. In fact, it seemed to have the exact opposite effect.

With an angry shout, the older boy lunged at Sasuke, who was momentarily stunned at the unforeseen reaction and didn't move out of the way in time. Due to the momentum of his attacker, the raven-haired boy's knees buckled, and he collapsed backwards under the heavier kid. His breath was knocked out of him in a painful whoosh that left him grappling with exactly what had just happened and what state his body was now in from the rough treatment. With a disgruntled sound of his own, Sasuke kicked at the weight atop him solely in an effort to get the guy off of him as quickly as possible, but the other child hung on like a barnacle and kept trying to pin all of the Uchiha's limbs unsuccessfully. After a few more moments of struggling with neither boy getting anywhere, suddenly the child above him was tackled to the ground at Sasuke's side.

Black eyes blinked once in confusion as he once more floundered to figure out what was going on. A set of small hands grabbed at one of his arms and tugged upward once, then twice before Sasuke realized they belonged to Sakura and she was attempting to pull him to his feet. When she tugged a third time, he went with the motion and climbed to his feet. But rather than turn to the little girl, he immediately looked for his attacker and what had caused him to go crashing to the ground. When he finally located the other boy, he was flat on his back sporting wide eyes, a burgeoning bruise on his arm where he'd probably hit the ground and was completely motionless. And right in front of him, was the blonde getting to his feet and grinning triumphantly.

It took the Uchiha a moment to gain his bearings, but after he did, he remembered the book and decided that was more important than dealing with the idea that the civilian ruffian had saved him, had intentionally helped him. Casting his gaze about, Sasuke spotted the heavy tome right where the older kid had been standing and surmised it must have been dropped when the boy lunged. Absently, he noted that the kid's posse was nowhere to be seen and then shrugged it off as it seemed unimportant anyway. He trotted over and squatted down to grasp the book with both hands to heft it up. Upon turning around, he found himself faced with two pairs of eyes, one blue and the other green, and the large kid from moments ago was also no longer in sight.

"What?" The dark-eyed boy grumbled, clearly not understanding why he was suddenly the center of attention.

But Sakura, who had been about to scold Naruto for picking a second fight, promptly forgot all about it when she noticed her favorite book in the other boy's hands. Her eyes widened and she gasped softly before hurrying over to him with a smile already stretching her lips. "Thank you very much." She told him, as politely as her mama had taught her to always be, and indicated the book so he would know what she was talking about.

His eyes dropped to the book in his hands, then shot back up to hers, and with a huff that she suspected was more for show than anything else, he shoved the large volume against her chest. Her arms immediately came up so she could wrap them solidly around the book and cradle it to her. She barely even heard him mutter a small "whatever" or shuffle on his feet as he backed away from her, nor did she register him moving towards Naruto to presumably figure out what the boy had done and why. Instead she focused an endeared look at the object in her hands for a few moments, then reluctantly tore her gaze away and tucked it safely under her arm as she sought out the two boys. She almost laughed when she saw them by the swings and clearly arguing once more, if their pinched faces and jerky hand movements were anything to go by.

Ever the peacemaker, she went over to them with the intention of breaking up whatever tiff they were having now, and in the process wondered if this was going to be a pattern with them. She hoped not, but as long as it didn't dissolve into punches and rolling around on the ground she supposed it would be a good start. Not exactly what she'd considered friendship, but then what did she know? The only real example she had to go off of was Ino, and it wasn't like the blonde girl was prone to arguments, let alone fights. As she neared them, she cleared her throat in an attempt to get their attention, and found she had to do it again and even louder to accomplish the task. Absently, she also hoped that this too would not become a pattern with them because she wasn't sure her vocal cords could take the abuse.

"Why don't I push you both on the swings?" She offered, as that seemed the easiest way to prevent any further arguing.

Two pairs of eyes blinked at her and she had stifle a giggle at miffed expressions they were treating her too. Naruto was the first to recover by eagerly nodding his head and shouting his agreement; she was beginning to suspect that any displays of kindness towards him would always be met thusly. Sasuke shot a mild glare at Naruto for his obnoxiously loud response, but still nodded in an almost sullen manner to let her know that he too was on board with the idea. Deciding that while both responses would take some getting used to, she was happy to follow through on her offer, and, more importantly, for them to not be bickering. So she put her book beside one of the poles holding up the swingset and then positioned herself behind the boys as they got situated on their respective swings, a smile adorning her face all the while. Ultimately, she felt this had been a good day and hoped for more like it. One glance at the two boys let her know they were both of the same opinion more or less, though Naruto chose that exact moment to make a harebrained comment, to which Sasuke immediately sniped at.


End file.
